Hi guys, I have been playing with BG65 forever...never really had any issues with it, and I know, "If ain't broke..." But, I wouldn't mind trying one notch higher, towards more 'crispness' and performance. I took a look at the chart, which is neat, but thought I'd ask you guys for some first-hand opinions. My local store carries these... Yonex BG65Ti Yonex BG68Ti Yonex BG70Pro Yonex BG80 Yonex BG85
I think the general consensus is that BG80 is a good all-rounder and you pretty much can't go wrong with it. I went from BG65 at factory tension (21lbs, I think) to BG80 at 23lbs and after an initial adjustment period I'm very happy with the way the strings perform now. Welcome to BadmintonCentral by the way.
Pha, I've just experienced BG85 for the first time having used BG80 as my regular string for a while now. It was strung on to a new, different racket to my regular racket so it is difficult to compare the strings. However, my initial reaction was that the BG85 has much more feel than BG80 and possibly packs more punch. The differences may be down to change of racket of course, so I'd like to hear your views on the differences between the two strings. Regards, Roy B.
Try BG-80. BG-85 I find less durable but a little more power. It's kinda between BG-66 and BG-80. But BG-80 is between BG-66 and BG-65 in terms of thickness.
BG-85, there is more control and feel compared to the BG-80 and the sound is louder and crisp on the 85 as well. Naturally the durability would be less compared to the 80 since it is 0.01mm thinner.
i think there's a misconception here that many people make, ie that BG65 is some sort of beginner/intermediate string whereas BG80, BG85 or NBG98 is a more advanced string. it's a myth, different strings suit different people and hence you should stick with what works best for you. obviously if the material or the thickness of the string isn't an issue, and the real issue is durability due to costs or inconvenience of getting your racquet restrung frequently, then by all means use BG65 or NBG95. other than that, i would never claim BG65 is more for beginners than for pros. a good example is Lin Dan and KKK, both of whom use BG65. now, i wouldn't exactly call them beginners or intermediates.
Thanks for all the info, guys...and for the welcome, Destricto. Happy belated St. Patrick's, btw. I forgot to add racquet info, if it helps/makes a difference... I have a Yonex Ti-2 and MP623. Don't know what calibre they exactly are...both were gifts.
The 65 is not a bad string actually. I have been using the 66 and 66 sharp forever. It's a little hard to get in the place I stay now, so I changed to 65 and strung it at a higher tension than I normally do on the 66. It stretches the string and makes it a little thinner; closer to that of the 66 while still maintaining durability as it's made of a different material. The 66 I had at 30 lbs, the 65 I strung at 32 lbs. I personally don't like the 80 and 85 series. They make great hitting sounds but in terms of power, it's much less than that of the 6X series. The only reason that they put the BG65 as a prestrung option is that so people don't break their strings so often giving the misconception that it's a beginner string. Proof? Look at what string the China badminton team use.